Electronic apparatus with wiring plates fixed directly to columns to space wiring circuit from base

ABSTRACT

An electronic apparatus includes metal wiring plates placed together in the same plane to provide a wiring circuit, electronic devices mounted to the wiring plates through a solder, a case having a base portion and columnar portions extending from the base portion. The wiring plates are fixed to the columnar portions such that the wiring circuit is spaced from the base portion. The wiring plates have an enough thickness to resist a large current for operating the electronic devices and to release heat generated by the electronic devices. The wiring circuit is spaced from the base portion of the case so that the heat generated by the electronic devices is released in the space efficiently. The electronic devices are soldered to the wiring plates at once in a thermal reflow process.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and incorporates herein by referenceJapanese Patent Application No. 2005-352664 filed on Dec. 6, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and a method ofmanufacturing the electronic apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An electronic apparatus used in a vehicle control system such as ananti-lock braking system (ABS), or an electronic stability control (ESC)needs both a power electronic device for driving an actuator and acontrol electronic device for controlling the actuator. Conventionally,the power and control electronic devices are mounted together on amultilayer printed circuit board to form an electronic circuit board asa major component of the electronic apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 9, a conventional electronic circuit board 110 includespower electronic devices P1-P3 and control electronic devices S1-S3. Thepower electronic devices P1-P3 and control electronic devices S1-S3 aremounted together on a printed circuit board 9. The power electronicdevices P1-P3 are a solenoid relay, a power zener diode, an aluminumelectrolytic capacitor, a motor relay, or the like. Each of the powerelectronic devices P1-P3 operates with a large current to drive theactuator. The control electronic devices S1-S3 are an integrated-circuit(IC), a microcomputer, a solenoid driver, or the like. Each of the powerelectronic devices S1-S3 operates with a small current to control theactuator. The printed circuit board 9 is a glass epoxy board havingmultiple wiring layers.

All necessary circuits are mounted on the printed circuit board 9.Therefore, the electronic circuit board 110 can be easily assembled witha case into the electronic apparatus.

Since the power electronic devices P1-P3 operate with the large current,each of the wiring layers of the printed circuit board 9 needs to resistthe large current. Further, the power electronic devices P1-P3 generateheat. Therefore, the wiring layers need to not only resist the largecurrent but also release the heat.

However, the wiring layers are made from a relatively thin metallicsintered-paste or film. Therefore, the printed circuit board 9 needs tohave a large size to allow the thin wiring layers to resist the largecurrent and release the heat. As a result, the electronic apparatus isincreased in size.

As shown in FIG. 10, another conventional electronic circuit board 120disclosed in JP-2004-200464A includes a busbar 10 having wiring portions11 and terminal portions 12. Electronic devices 30, 31 are mounted onthe wiring portions 11 through solder portions 40. The wiring portions11 except the solder portions 40 are coated with a solder resist 60.

The busbar 10 is housed in a case 20 made of an electrical insulatingmaterial such. as ceramics or resin. The case 20 consists of an uppercase 21 and a lower case 22. The wiring portions 11 are sandwichedbetween the upper and lower cases 21, 22 and the upper and lower cases21, 22 are joined together by means of mechanical engagement or adhesiveengagement. Thus, the wiring portions 11 are joined together and housedin the case 20. The terminal portions 12 project outwardly from the case20.

The busbar 10 is a metal plate greater in thickness than the wiringlayers of the electronic circuit board 110 of FIG. 9. Therefore, thebusbar 10 can resist the large current for operating the electronicdevices 30, 31 and release the heat generated by the electronic devices30, 31 sufficiently.

Typically, when the busbar is used as the wiring circuit, through holedevices (THD) are used as the electronic devices. The busbar except theterminal portions is molded with the resin case and lead wires of theTHDs are connected to the terminal portions by laser welding.

In contrast, in the electronic circuit board 120, surface mount devices(SMD) are used as the electronic devices and the SMDs are soldered onthe busbar 10 at once in a thermal reflow process. Therefore,high-density mounting is available and the electronic circuit board 120can be manufactured at low cost as compared to the electronic circuitboard having the THDs mounted by laser welding.

In the electronic circuit board 120, however, the wiring portions 11 aresandwiched between the upper and lower cases 21, 22 to be joinedtogether. This approach limits flexibility of circuit design. Therefore,the electronic circuit board 120 cannot achieve a large-scale circuitfor the electronic apparatus used in the ABS or ESC.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described problem, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an electronic apparatus having an increasedflexibility of circuit design without reductions in current carryingcapacity and heat release rate, and to provide a method of manufacturingthe electronic apparatus at low cost.

An electronic apparatus includes wiring plates placed together in thesame plane to provide a wiring circuit, electronic devices mounted tothe wiring plates through a solder member, a case having a base portionand columnar portions extending from the base portion. The wiring platesare fixed to the columnar portions of the case such that the wiringcircuit is spaced from the base portion of the case.

The wiring plates are metal plates having an enough thickness to resista large current for operating the electronic devices and to release heatgenerated by the electronic devices. The wiring circuit is spaced fromthe base portion of the case, so that the heat generated by theelectronic devices is released in the space efficiently and thermalstress of the case on the solder paste is reduced. Therefore, theelectronic apparatus can be installed in a high temperature environmentsuch as in a vehicle.

Since the electronic devices are mounted to the wiring plates throughthe solder member, the electronic devices can be mounted to the wiringplates at once in a thermal reflow process. Therefore, the electronicapparatus can be manufactured at low cost as compared to a conventionalelectronic apparatus having through hole devices mounted by laserwelding. The columnar portions, where the wiring plates are fixed, canbe provided in desired locations on the base portion of the case. Thus,flexibility of circuit design is increased so that the wiring circuitcan have various circuit patterns to provide a large-scale circuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1A is a top view of an electronic apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an exploded view ofthe electronic apparatus of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a top view of a columnar portion of a case of the electronicapparatus, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the columnar portiontaken along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectionalview showing a manner in which a wiring plate of a wiring circuit of theelectronic apparatus is fixed to the columnar portion of the case of theelectronic apparatus;

FIG. 3A is a one side view of the wiring circuit of the electronicapparatus, and FIG. 3B is an other side view of the wiring circuit ofthe electronic apparatus;

FIGS. 4A-6B are views of manufacturing processes of the electronicapparatus;

FIG. 7A is a schematic view of the wiring circuit of the electronicapparatus, and FIG. 7B is a schematic view of a wiring circuit accordingto a modification of the embodiment;

FIG. 8A is a schematic view of the wiring circuit of FIG. 7A having ametal layer for controlling a solder flow, FIG. 8B is a schematic viewof the wiring circuit of FIG. 7A having a solder resist for controllingthe solder flow, and FIG. 8C is a schematic view of the wiring circuitof FIG. 7B having a heat resistant sheet for controlling the solderflow;

FIG. 9 is a top view of a circuit board of a conventional electronicapparatus; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a circuit board of another conventionalelectronic apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, an electronic apparatus 100 includes awiring circuit 70 having wiring plates 71, electronic devices 80, and acase 50 for supporting the wiring circuit 70.

The wiring plates 71 are placed on the same plane to provide the wiringcircuit 70. Each of the wiring plates 71 has a predetermined shape andsome of the wiring plates 71 have through holes 72, as shown in FIGS. 3Aand 3B.

The electronic devices 80 are mounted to the wiring plates 71 throughsolder pastes 90. The solder pastes 90 may be, for example, lead (i.e.,Pb) free solders having a lead content of less than or equal to 0.1% byweight (wt %) and low wettability. In such an approach, the use of thelead, which is a hazardous material, can be avoided and the solderpastes 90 can suitably spread over the wiring plates 71 in a thermalreflow process.

The case 50 is made of resin and includes a base portion 50 a andcolumnar portions 50 c extending vertically from the base portion 50 a.The columnar portions 50 c have top portions 50 b smaller in diameterthan the columnar portions 50 c. The top portions 50 b of the columnarportions 50 c are inserted through the through holes 72 of the wiringplates 71. The top portions 50 b are deformed by application of heat andpressure so that the wiring plates 71 are fixed to the columnar portions50 c. Thus, the wiring circuit 70 is mounted to the case 50 to be spacedfrom the base portion 50 a.

As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, the columnar portions 50 c may have grooveportions 50 d around the top portions 50 b. The groove portions 50 dprevent the columnar portions 50 c from being cracked by a burr 71 aproduced when the through holes 72 are formed by a punching process.

The base portion 50 a, the columnar portions 50 c, and the top portions50 b are integrally molded to provide the case 50. Thus, the wiringcircuit 70 is fixed to the case 50 without special fixing parts so thatthe electronic apparatus 100 can be manufactured at low cost. The wiringplates 71 having no through hole 72 may be placed on columnar portions(not shown) other than the columnar portions 50 c and sandwiched betweenthe other columnar portions and resin member (nor shown) to be fixed tothe case 50.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 3A, the electronic devices 80 are mounted on aninner side of the wiring circuit 70 to face the base portion 50 a of thecase 50. In short, the electronic devices 80 are positioned between thebase portion 50 a and the wiring circuit 70. Therefore, even when theelectronic devices 80 have different heights, an outer side of thewiring circuit 70 is flat. Thus, the electronic devices 80 are preventedfrom being caught in something and destroyed. Alternatively, theelectronic devices 80 may be mounted on each side of the wiring circuit70. In such an approach, high-density mounting of the electronic devices80 can be achieved so that the electronic apparatus 100 can be reducedin size.

The wiring plates 71 are metal plates having an enough thickness toresist a large current for operating the electronic devices 80 and torelease heat generated by the electronic devices 80. Therefore, theelectronic devices 80 can have a large operating current to drive anactuator. Further, the wiring plates 71 are spaced from the base portion50 a of the case 50, so that the heat is released in the spaceefficiently and thermal stress of the case 50 on the solder pastes 90 isreduced.

In the electronic apparatus 100, since the electronic devices 80 aremounted to the wiring plates 71 through the solder pastes 90, theelectronic devices 80 are mounted to the wiring plates 71 at once in thethermal reflow process. Therefore, the electronic apparatus 100 canachieve high-density mounting and low manufacturing cost. Since thecolumnar portions 50 c, where the wiring plates 71 are fixed, can beprovided in desired locations on the base portion 50 a of the case 50,flexibility of circuit design is increased. Therefore, the wiringcircuit 70 can have various circuit patterns to provide a large-scalecircuit used for a vehicle control system such as an anti-lock brakingsystem (ABS), or an electronic stability control (ESC).

As described above, the electronic apparatus 100 includes the wiringcircuit 70 constructed by the wiring plates 71. The wiring plates 71have the enough thickness to resist the large current and to release theheat generated by the electronic devices 80. The wiring plates 71 arespaced from the base portion 50 a so that the heat generated by theelectronic devices 80 is released in the space efficiently. Therefore,the electronic apparatus 100 can be installed in a high temperatureenvironment such as in a vehicle. Therefore, the electronic apparatus100 can be used in the vehicle control system such as the ABS or theESC.

The electronic apparatus 100 is manufactured as follows:

First, a one-piece plate 75 shown in FIG. 4A is prepared. The one-pieceplate 75 has a shape such that the wiring plates 71 are connectedtogether by joint plates 73. A flat metal plate is shaped into theone-piece plate 75 by means of a punching process, etching process, orthe like. Thus, the one-piece plate 75 is easily prepared so that themanufacturing cost of the electronic apparatus 100 can be reduced.

At the same time, the through holes 72 are formed in some of the wiringplates 71. When the flat metal plate is shaped into the one-piece plate75 by means of the punching process, the burr 71 a shown in FIG. 2C maybe produced. As described above, the columnar portions 50 c may have thegroove portions 50 d around the top portions 50 b. The groove portions50 d receive the burr 71 a and prevent the columnar portions 50 c frombeing cracked by the burr 71 a. The burr 71 a may act as a dam forpreventing overflow of the solder pastes 90 in the thermal reflowprocess, depending on the location and shape of the through holes 72.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the solder pastes 90 are printed onpredetermined regions on the one-piece plate 75. As described above, itis preferable that the solder pastes 90 are made of the lead free solderhaving the lead content of less than or equal to 0.1 wt % to avoid theuse of the hazardous material. Since the lead free solder have the lowwettability, the solder pastes 90 can suitably spread over the wiringplates 71 in the thermal reflow process described below.

Next, the electronic devices 80 are placed on the solder pastes 90printed on the one-piece plate 75. Then, the electronic devices 80 aresoldered on the wiring plates 71 of the one-piece plate 75 at once inthe thermal reflow process.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the one-piece plate 75 are placed onthe columnar portions 50 c of the case 50 by inserting the top portions50 b of the columnar portions 50 c though the through holes 72 of thewiring plates 71. Then, the top portions 50 b are deformed and fixed tothe wiring plates 71 by application of heat and pressure. The wiringplates 71 having no through hole 72 are placed on the other columnarportions (not shown) and sandwiched between the other columnar portionsand the other resin member (not shown). Thus, the one-piece plate 75 isfixed to the case 50.

The base portion 50 a, the columnar portions 50 c, and the top portions50 b are integrally molded to form the case 50. Therefore, the one-pieceplate 75 is fixed to the case 50 without the special fixing parts sothat the manufacturing cost of the electronic apparatus 100 can bereduced.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, the joint plates 73 are removed from theone-piece plate 75 to form the wiring circuit 70.

Thus, the electronic apparatus 100 is manufactured and mounted to, forexample, an actuator 200 as shown in FIG. 6B.

(Modifications)

The embodiment described above may be modified in various ways.

A one-piece plate 76 shown in FIG. 7A has the same structure as theone-piece plate 75 described in the embodiment. In short, in theone-piece plate 76, the wiring plates 71 are connected together by thejoint plates 73 defined by dashed lines.

In contrast, in a one-piece plate 77 shown in FIG. 7B, the wiring plates71 are bonded to a first heat resistant sheet 78. Thus, the wiringplates 71 are connected together by the first heat resistant sheet 78.The first heat resistant sheet 78 is removed from the one-piece plate 77in a process corresponding to the process shown in FIG. 6A. Since thefirst heat resistant sheet 78 is easily removed, the manufacturing costof the electronic apparatus 100 can be reduced.

FIGS. 8A-8C show methods to control the flow of the solder pastes 90 inthe reflow process.

As shown in FIG. 8A, in the one-piece plate 76, a metal 91 made of adifferent material than that of the wiring plates 71 may be formed tothe regions where the solder pastes 90 are printed. For example, theregions may be plated with the metal 91 having a greater wettabilitythan the wiring plates 71. In such an approach, the flow of the solderpastes 90 in the reflow process can be limited to the regions.

As shown in FIG. 8B, in the one-piece plate 76, solder resists 92 may beformed around the regions to prevent overflow of the solder pastes 90.In such an approach, the flow of the solder pastes 90 in the reflowprocess can be limited to the regions.

As shown in FIG. 8C, in the one-piece plate 77, a second heat resistantsheet 79 having openings where the regions are exposed may be bonded tothe first heat resistant sheet 78. The second heat resistant sheet 79functions in the same way as the solder resists 92 and prevents theoverflow of the solder pastes 90. In such an approach, the flow of thesolder pastes 90 in the reflow process can be limited to the regions.

Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within thescope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a plurality of metal wiringplates each of which has a predetermined shape, the wiring plates beingplaced together in a same plane to provide a wiring circuit; a pluralityof electronic devices each of which is mounted to at least one of thewiring plates through a solder member; a resin case for supporting thewiring circuit, the case having a base portion and a plurality ofcolumnar portions extending from the base portion, wherein the wiringplates are fixed directly to the columnar portions whereby the wiringcircuit is spaced from the base portion.
 2. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the wiring plates has athrough hole, at least one of the columnar portions has a top portioninserted through the through hole, and the top portion is deformed tofix the wiring plates to the columnar portions.
 3. The electronicapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one of the columnarportions has a groove portion around the top portion, and the grooveportion receives a burr projecting around the through hole of the wiringplates to prevent the columnar portions from being damaged by the burr.4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronicdevices are mounted to each side of the wiring plates.
 5. The electronicapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic devices aremounted to one side of the wiring plates to face the base portion of thecase.
 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesolder member is made of a lead free solder having a lead content ofless than or equal to 0.1 percent by weight.
 7. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the electronic devices isa power electronic device for driving an actuator.
 8. The electronicapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic apparatus isinstalled in a vehicle.
 9. The electronic apparatus according to claim8, wherein the electronic apparatus is used in an antilock brake systemor electronic stability control.
 10. An electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of columnar portions iscylindrical.
 11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe columnar portions are each spaced from one another.
 12. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base portion ofthe resin case is disposed so as to be located solely on one side of thewiring circuit.
 13. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices is disposedso as to be located vertically above the base portion of the resin case.14. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of thewiring plates has at least one through hole, each of the columnarportions has a top portion inserted through a respective through hole,and said top portions are deformed to fix the wiring plates to thecolumnar portions with the wiring plates supported by the columnarportions so as to be spaced from the base portion by the columnarportions.